Episode 461: How to do side projects with a family and demanding job and my company promised me a raise, but didn't give it

<p>In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:</p>

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<p>Hey, long-time listener, listened to almost all episodes now and have been loving it since day 1!!</p>

<p>I am a senior engineer at FAANG and work 45-50 hours a week and have a lot of cross-org responsibilities. I am lucky to have a beautiful wife and two wonderful young children. I guess, you can imagine how difficult it already is to manage work/life; especially because I am working remote from a different timezone with large dilation.</p>

<p>I did lots of side projects before I had a family. But I was totally okay leaving all that behind for a great family life. Now, I have been struck by a really cool idea for an AI-based product that intersects with static analysis and my day-to-day work, which I cannot stop thinking about. I am sure that this project would be more than I could handle at the moment without cutting back on anything else.</p>

<p>The question now really is, how do people with families and FAANG jobs do side projects? Or do they even? Do they have more than 24 hours in one day?</p>
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<p>Hello! Love the show, one-time contributor :p</p>

<p>I’m in agony about my recent compensation change regarding my promotion and I am looking for some wise guidance (and if not that, some funny jokes will do).</p>

<p>Context: I work at a big tech company. I got promoted to a senior engineer, but. I didn’t get a bump to my salary. Instead, the company “indicated” that the raise would happen in six months, at the next performance review, which happened last week.</p>

<p>What did I end up getting? Nothing :)</p>

<p>Why? Apparently they have not been giving salary bumps to people who get promoted, and it has enraged people.</p>

<p>It hurts my pride. I consistently get good performance reviews & peer feedback. People go out of their way to say how good my work is. I have every evidence to say I am a strong performer.</p>

<p>My manager is very supportive and tried escalating my case. But the company didn’t budge. They did say that “there’s a chance” to “make it right” in 6 months.</p>

<p>On the one hand it feels petty to leave a company because I didn’t get the raise I wanted, especially when I do really enjoy working here. On the other hand…I am very disappointed.</p>

<p>What do I do? Do I stick it out for another six months and see what happens? Are there options left other than start prepping myself for interviews?</p>

<p>You are amazing people. Cheers.</p>
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